Vote for our first “Records of Rights” display document!

Today’s post comes from Anna Lewis, social media intern in the Education and Public Programs division.

Give your students the chance to make history!

We want you AND your students to vote for the first landmark document to be displayed in our new exhibition. “Records of Rights” opens December 10 at the National Archives in Washington, DC. We display the Charters of Freedom—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights—year round, but the rights laid out in those documents didn’t always apply to all Americans. “Records of Rights” will highlight the struggle for voting rights, equal opportunities, free speech and citizenship.

You and your students’ votes will help decide the very first special featured document displayed for the over 1 million visitors to the National Archives each year. Some documents, such as the Emancipation Proclamation and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, are already scheduled to be displayed later to highlight special events and anniversaries.

Which of these five important documents do you and your students think deserves to go on display first? Vote now!

Equal Protection of the Laws—The 14th Amendment

The 1868 joint resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the states: The 14th amendment established the principle of “equal protection of the laws” and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.”

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act: The ADA, as it’s called, expanded Federal civil rights laws to include disabled Americans, and banned discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications.